Yao laughs off injury, should play

JANNY HU, Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle

Published 6:30 am, Monday, January 13, 2003

Yao Ming
left
Compaq Center
early Saturday evening, shortly after he sprained his left knee and well before the media could quiz him about his injured joint. Without his usual double dose of pre- and postgame interviews, Yao was more than prepared to face the press Sunday morning.

As he walked out of the exercise room at Westside Tennis Club for treatment on his knee, the Rockets center looked toward the media awaiting him and suddenly began dragging his foot, feigning a bad limp and a pained facial expression.

It lasted all of five seconds before a smile could be noticed at the corners of his lips.

Yes, Yao's sense of humor is fine.

So is his knee.

"Pretty good," Yao said in English. "I think I can play."

With that declaration, Yao likely eased many of the murmurs heard Saturday when the Rockets announced to the crowd of 11,972 that their 7-5 rookie would not return to face the Denver Nuggets. Yao injured himself on a rebound attempt against Nuggets centerNene Hilario midway through the first quarter and remained in the game until he felt the knee tighten up with just under a minute left in the period.

"I remember when I stayed in the low post, and Nene Hilario, he wanted position, and (then this happened)," Yao said as he slapped his knee.

"It's lucky I didn't break it," he added, this time only half-joking.

Yao was examined by Dr. Walter Lowe, one of the Rockets' team physicians, before he went through a light practice Sunday while wearing a support sleeve around his left knee. Yao believed he would be fine for tonight's game against the Boston Celtics, but the Rockets will re-evaluate him after today's shootaround. His status will officially be a game-day decision.

Of greater worry for the Rockets is forward Glen Rice, who was also injured in Saturday's 87-85 victory. Rice sat out the second quarter after straining his left shoulder in the first quarter while driving toward the basket. He started the second half and tried to loosen the jammed shoulder, but he left for good four minutes later.

Rice said his shoulder felt no different on Sunday, which meant it was still fairly sore. Coach Rudy Tomjanovich was "very concerned" about the health of his 35-year-old veteran, who underwent knee surgery last January to repair a torn right patellar tendon.

Rice is expected to undergo an MRI today and is questionable for tonight's game.

With the team's sudden swarm of injuries, the mood was atypically subdued before Sunday's practice. Tomjanovich ran his players through a 40-minute workout, keeping it short and simple for the Rockets, who played their fourth game in five days against the Nuggets.

But Yao and forward Maurice Taylor -- the first Rocket to go down Saturday, with a tender Achilles' tendon -- did their best to lighten spirits.

"I thought I started it," Taylor joked about the Rockets' injury bug. "But you have days like that when people have smaller injuries. It just happened that everything happened on the same day. I can't explain it.

"I was trying to stay off the foot I had surgery on, and by doing that, I made the foot I didn't have surgery on sore," added Taylor, who missed the entire 2001-02 season after tearing his right Achilles' during a pick-up game in the summer of 2001. "When it's sore, I have a tendency to not say anything and just limp on it. I didn't want to be out more than one game ... and I didn't want two hurt feet. It worries me. I know what happened last time."

Guard Steve Francis, Rice and Taylor all missed significant time last season, and Tomjanovich knows that with these smaller injuries, the toughest thing can be playing the waiting game. Not knowing the exact extent of a sprain or strain, or how long the soreness will linger, can often test a player's nerves.

"It's very frustrating," Tomjanovich said. "I did that at the end of my career. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. You want to be out there, and it's tough, especially with a young team.

"We went through this so many times last year. These guys, it's a very similar situation. (If) we get word before a game that a guy is out, I pull a guy (aside) and say, `You're going today,' just to get them mentally prepared. You just take it one game at a time. I know it's a cliché, but that's the way you've got to do it."